Aymond 'ashamed' of negative political races, newspaper says
Archbishop of New Orleans Gregory Aymond in his office on June 26, 2015. (Photo by Ted Jackson, Nola.com | The Times-Picayune archives)
Modern political campaigns that feature name-calling and insulting comments by candidates "create an evil spirit among us," Gregory Aymond, the Roman Catholic archbishop of New Orleans, writes in a column for the Clarion Herald. Aymond said most people are tired of the negative campaigning that has become commonplace in all levels of U.S. politics.
"In my mind, politics in many ways has a lack of civility, and I at times feel embarrassed and ashamed of the turn this has taken," Aymond says in the column headlined "What has happened to civility in politics?" The archbishop says he thinks the hostile campaign environment dissuades good candidates from seeking office "because who would want to put themselves on the chopping block for name-calling or have every sin in their past be placed before everyone else?"
Aymond said it is the church's responsibility to proclaim: "This is not what we want politics to be. It's not of God. Where is our negativity bringing us?"
"In my mind, politics in many ways has a lack of civility, and I at times feel embarrassed and ashamed of the turn this has taken," Aymond says in the column headlined "What has happened to civility in politics?" The archbishop says he thinks the hostile campaign environment dissuades good candidates from seeking office "because who would want to put themselves on the chopping block for name-calling or have every sin in their past be placed before everyone else?"
Aymond said it is the church's responsibility to proclaim: "This is not what we want politics to be. It's not of God. Where is our negativity bringing us?"
- Read the entire column in the Clarion Herald.
No comments:
Post a Comment